Fluorometer for measurement of fluorescence of uneven surfaces



April 15, 1952 E. E. BRAY 2,593,391

FLUOROMETER FOR MEASUREMENT OF FLUORESCENCE OF' UNEVEN SURFACES Filed March 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l ELLISEBRAY INVEN TOR.

BYfl KM W AGENT April 15, 1952 E. E. BRAY 2,593,391

FLUOROMETER FOR MEASUREMENT OF FLUORESCENCE OF UNEVEN SURFACES Filed March 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m VIIII/I/II ELus E BRAY IN V EN TOR.

BYLQ MW AGENT April 1952 E. E. BRAY 2,593,391

FLUOROMETER FOR MEASUREMENT OF FLUORESCENCE OF UNEVEN SURFACES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 2, 1950 ELLIS E.BRAY

INVENTOR.

BY J @LW AGENT samples: of well cuttings. vbeenno provision on field instruments. for ob- .taining precise measurements. parisons of the relative intensity of fluorescence Patented Apr. 15, 1952 FLUOROMETER FOR MEASUREMENT I OF v FLUORESCENCE OF UNEYENSURFACES Ellis'E. Bray, Cedar'Hill, Tex. Application March 2, 1950, Serial No. 147,184

13 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the measurement of fluorescence of selected liquids or solids and more particularlyto aninstrument for the measure- ..ment of fluorescence of soil samples, well cuttings, or -wellcores obtained in the exploration for oil .and thedrilling. of oilwells.

Fluorescent studies of various materials are well known and widely used. For example, in

.exploration and prospecting, variations .in the fluorescent properties of minerals haslong been used vboth to locate mineral deposits and after their location to follow such deposits during .mining operation. The fluorescence of.samples of soil has been considered tobe a likelyparam- 'eter for detection of oil fields in geochemical prospecting since hydrocarbons are known to Jfluoresce.

In the process of drilling wells for oil, it-has, in some instances, beenposs'ible to distinguish between oil-gas, oil-water, and gaswater contacts on the basis of fluorescence of Only roughcomoftthe samples based wholly on visualobserva- .tion have been possible.

By the present invention, thereis provided. a fluorometer. in which the intensity of the fluorescence may readily be measured electronically .in relation to a, calibrated fluorescentstandard whereby values obtained are a direct and accu- .rate measurement of the intensity of fluorescence of the. samples. rality of such measurements may thus becompared quantitatively. one with another.

The values obtained for a. plu- -For furtherobjects and advantages, reference -may now be had to the following. description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

-Fig.-1--is a diagrammatic sectional view of the fluorometer taken along the line rr1 .2 and includes-a schematicdiagram of the detecting circuit;

.Eig.-2.is another view partially in sectiontaken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig 3 .isa. circuit diagram for .theusource of .Figwi is a plot ofthe-photocell..outputifor a -.plurality .of positions in thesample aperture of .a relativelysmallpiece .of (fluorescent .glass;

and

Fig. 5.is.an isometric cut-awayviewoi. a modification of theiifluorometer. shown. in Fig; 1 i showing the rear portion of the outer housing, contents andromitting -the front .panel and .the' electrical --circui.ts and associated. parts.

Measurement of the fluorescence of rough samplessuchas are obtained. in the fleldmay be wholly unreliable for the reason that the intensity 'ofithe'radiation detected bya' photocell inversely, proportional to' the'square of the distance between the sample and the photocell andis directlvproportional to'the' cosine" of the angle of incidence of 'the' exciting energy. Ifasample of rock orof cuttings is not carefully'machined or compacted'as to present a substanti'allyflat and uniform surface'to the'excitation andto the detector of' fluorescence, the measurement obtained will be critically'dependent upon the orientation of the various reflecting faces on the surface'of the sample. In the presentinvention, the system is so devised that measurements of fluorescence may be obtained on relativelyroughsurfaceisamples, i. e., cores, rocks, cuttings, etc.,

which are accurate towithin :5 percent without However; there .has

special preparation. Theforegoing accuracy is achieved by providing a distributed source "of excitation sothat the ultraviolet light impinges the samplefrom all directions and thus attenuates orreduces variations due to difierentorientations. In efiect, by providing a distributed source in'the manner hereinafter more fully'explained, the area of the sampleexposed to radia- ,tion.is effectively averaged so far as a detector circuit is concerned so that for any of a'plurality of orientations of a given samplethe detected intensity of fluorescence will not vary more than indicated above. Y

Referring now to Fig. 1, there has been illustrated in section one form of the fluorometerof the present invention with the detecting and measuring circuit associatedtherewith illustrated schematically. The fluorometer comprises two sources Ill and ID of ultraviolet light positioned within a light-tight housing (not shown) but which includes as one side thereof anaperture'd plate H (shown in part). Lightirom the .sourceslll and I0 irradiatesthe plate "1| and exposes sample [2, placed outside of the housing and adjacent the aperture l3, to ultraviolet radiations. The sample I2 thereupon fluoresces in amount dependent upon the distance .from the source in to'the surface of thesampie, the cosine of' the angle of the'incidenceof the radiation'fromthe sources!!! and!!! and the intrinsic properties of the sample itself. It'is, of course, desirable to obtain measurementsof the fluorescence of the sample dependent only upon the, latter factor and independent or variations that may be caused byorientingthe sample in different positions.

'Visible'fluorescent'light'from the. sample I2 radiation of longer wave lengths pass through filter |5. The aperture I1 is centered on the axis of the aperture l3. Similarly, the detector is positioned on the axis for reception of the radiation.

In the preferred form of the invention, the sources In and ID are also spaced equidistant from the axis. As will further be explained in connection with Figs. 2 and 4, it is preferred that they be distributed sources. A distributed source is used herein to mean a source having an areal distribution in a plane in the housing perpendicular to the axis of the aperture l3 equal to or greater than the area of the aperture I3. Such a distributed source will irradiate the sample aperture I3 from all directions as distinguishedfrom a point source. Thus variations in the radiating surface of the sample [2 are effectively averaged so that for a given sample any orientation will excite the detector 20 to substantially the same extent as any other orientation, even though there are irregularities on the surface of samples not carefully prepared as by machining or other treatment.

The foregoing has briefly described certain features of the fluorometer. The D. C. amplifier system of Fig. 1 forming a portion of the fluorometer will now be described. The detector 20, a phototube, is connected by way of conductor 2| to a load resistor 22 and thence by way of conductor 23 to the positive terminal of battery 24. Conductor 25 connects the resistor 22 to the cathode of the phototube 20 thus completing the detector circuit.

The load resistor 22 is in the grid circuit of theinput stage of a direct current feed-back amplifier 39. The amplifier comprises tube 3| whose grid is connected to one terminal of load resistor 22. directly to ground, and the screen grid 33 is connected to the positive terminal of battery 34 and thence to ground. The anode circuit comprises the battery 36 and load resistor 31. The output of the tube 3| is directly coupled through battery The cathode 32 is connected 40 to the input grid 4| of the second tube 42 of 7 the amplifier, The screen grid 43 is connected by way of the screen supply battery 44 to the cathode 46. The anode circuit of tube 42 includes the supply battery whose negative terminal is connected to ground. The plate current path of tube 42 is completed to cathode through the ammeter 5| and the variable resistance 52. It

circuit 53. In accordance with feed-back theory,

the current amplification of the whole amplifier is determined by the ratio of resistance 22 to the variable resistance 52. A circuit including battery 69 and resistancefil is connected between ground and the cathode 45 of tube 42. The ourrent flowing through meter 5| from battery 60 opposes the current flowing from the tube 42. Resistor 6| is chosen so that, for a given bias level on tube 3|, the potential between ground and cathode 45 is zero and thereby the ammeter is made to read zero. Thereafter, any change in the potential across the resistor 22 will produce a substantially equal and opposite voltage across resistor 52. The magnitude of this unbalance as indicated by meter 5| is a measure directly proportional to the sample fluorescence.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the phototube 29 is shown in the cutaway portion of the enclosure or inner housing It.v The source I9 shown in this view is an elongated tube supported in brackets 10 and H fastened to the reflector 12 which is carried by the side of the housing |6. The tube l9 is a black light source extending on each side of the axis of the aperture l3 a distance considerably greater than the diameter of the aperture l3 and thus forms together with the tube I0 of Fig. 1 a source distributed in a plane parallel to the plane of the aperture l3 for irradiating the sample l2 from many directions. By so doing, the eifect of irregularities in the surface of the sample |2 adjacent the aperture 13 is greatly reduced. V

The fluorometer is further provided with a baffle 89 pivoted at 8| on'the plate H for covering or closing the aperture l3 to eliminate entry of light from outside the housing. Additionally there is provided a calibrated standard 82 of some fluorescent material such as a piece of fluorescent glass. The standard is carried by the plate adjacent the aperture |3. A hinged 'bafile 83 is also provided for covering the standard 82 to prevent radiation therefrom when desired. The fluorometer may then be calibrated in terms of the standard 82, as will be explained in connection with Fig. 5, so that for a plurality of readings of the sample |2 or for readings from a plurality of different samples placed in the same or different instruments constructed in accordance with the present invention the measured intensities will have a known relationship one with respect to the other. r

Fig. 3 illustrates diagrammatically the circuit for the sources It and ID of Figs. 1 and 2. The sources may be fluorescent lamps which, as available commercially, are provided with a filter embodied in the glass envelope to pass light in the band centered in the region of 3600 angstrom units. The terminals and 9| may be connected to a 110 volt source, A. C. or D. C., and thence by way of ballast 92 to the tube Ill. The filaments of tubes In and. I0 may be'connected in series when switch 93 is closed to provide for initial heating of the filaments. When the switch 93 is opened, the arc is initiated and thereafter maintained in the tubes.

In Fig. 4 there has been plotted the intensity of fluorescence of a small piece of canary glass for each of a plurality of positions in the aperture l3 along the diameter perpendicular. to'the axis of the sources In and Ill. The curve was obtained by first covering tube l0 so that only tube |0' effectively irradiated the aperture. A mirror image of this curve (not shown) was obtained when tube ID was covered. The variation in response as indicated by the rapid increase in fluorescence as the sample 94 was moved to a position where the angle of incidence approached 90 degrees illustrates the necessity of a distributed source. The curve 9=Bwas obtained by repeating the foregoing measurements with both sources I and I0 effectively irradiating the aperture. The response is substantially uniform for any postion' within the aperture. This uniformity is possible by the use of a distributed source and by positioning the source such that it is symmetrical with respect to the axis of the aperture I3. Thus, any increase in the angle of incidence and distance with respect to one lamp is substantially completely compensated by a concurrent decrease in the angle of incidence and distance with respect to the other lamp.

' Fig. illustrates a further modification of the invention. Like parts have been given the same reference characters in Fig. 5 as in Figs. 1 and 2. In this modification a fluorescent black light tube I00 of circular shape is utilized as the source for exciting fluorescence of the sample I2. In this modification the source I00 encircles the housing IOI containing a photocell schematically illustrated by the cross-hatched disc I02. The source I00, housing IOI, cell I02 and the filter I5 are all positioned or centered on the axis I03 of the aperture I3. Thus the sample is irradiated from all directions to provide complete compensation for variations in sample orientation.

Battle 80 is illustrated in the open position of the aperture I3 and is controlled by way of a shaft I05 (dotted) which extends through the case, of which the plate II forms a part, and has on the extremity thereof a handle or other suitable control I06. The bafile 83 is illustrated in a position intermediate its open and closed position and has a shaft I0! (dotted) terminated in a handle or control I08 on the outside of the instrument case to facilitate operation. In this modification the calibrated standard 82 is fastened onto the plate II adjacent the aperture I3 and is provided with a slotted cover I I0 which may be slidably positioned under screw I II which threadedly passes through the slot in cover III] and then through a block II2 into the plate II. Variation of the position of the plate I I0 will determine the area of the standard 82 and thus may be used in the initial calibration of the instrument.

To place the instrument in operation, the following .steps may be followed. The area of the calibrated standard 82 to be exposed in a particular instrument will depend upon the intensity of radiation that will be received from samples that are to be studied. To determine the area of the standard to be used, a plurality of samples of, for example, well cuttings, well cores, and rock samples successively may be placed near the aperture I3. With the standard covered by baflle '83 and the aperture opened, a range of values of fluorescence subsequently to be measured will be obtained which define the desired range of the instrument. In a system such as illustrated in Fig. 1 where for the sake of simplicity the instrument is provided with but one range of sensitivity (which obviously might be altered by placing shunt resistances of known values across the meter 5|) the'fluoresence from standard 82 should be of such intensity as to exceed that from any of the samples to be measured. Thus, in the system of Fig. 1, it is desirable to have the standard of such an area that the calibration of the instrument will be made at full scale of meter 5| and that a majority of measurements of samples 7 will be at or near midscale deflection. This will permit the measurement of samples having fiuorescence both stronger and weaker than the average values. The aperture I 3 may then be closed, the standard 82 exposed to radiation and the plate IIII (Fig. 5) adjusted in position, covering a greater or smaller area of the standard, until radiation is near or at the upper extreme of the range indicated by the samples to be studied. A plurality of such fluorometers may then be calibrated to the same point so that readings from such instruments may be compared directly.

After the area of the standard has been adjusted, the meter is ready for use and its operation is as follows. Baiile 80 is placed over the aperture I3 and baffie 83 is placed over the stand ard B2. The amplifier comprisedof tubes 3| and 42 is energized and adjusted by variation of resistor 50 for zero deflection of meter 5|. Bailie 83 is then opened for detection of the fluorescence from the standard 82 by the cell 20, and resistance 52 is adjusted to the proper scale deflection of the meter 5|. Baifie 83 is then moved to cover standard 82, a selected sample I2 is placed adjacent the aperture I3 and the baffle 80 moved to open the aperture. The deflection of the meter 5| will be directly proportional to the fluorescence of the sample I2 and the ratio of the fluorescent properties of the sample IIZ to the standard 82 is directly proportional to the deflection of the meter 5| for the two readings. If meter BI is graduated from zero, to one hundred, calibrations preferably will be made at full scale whereupon the deflection produced by a sample will be a direct reading of the desired ratio. Calibration of the fiuorometer each time it is used provides a means whereby different samples may be compared in their fluorescent properties independently of such variables as voltages in the amplifier, etc., which are peculiar to each instrument, particularly in case of a field instrument where variations in the power sources are inherent.

The following parameters used in one form of the invention are given by way of example:

Tubes 20, (H and 42: 929, lLBl, and 3Q5, re-

spectively Batteries 24, 34, 36, 44: 45 volts Batteries and 22 volts Battery 40: 13 volts Resistor 22: 1000 megohms Resistor 3?: 1000 megohms Resistor 52: 20,000 ohms Resistor 56: 120,000 ohms Resistor 6|: 10,000 ohms It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular arrangements specifically described but that changes and modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims will be made.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fiuorometer having a housing lighttight except for a sample receiving aperture in one face thereof, the combination which comprises alight sensitive device in said housing positioned axially of said aperture, a distributed source of ultraviolet light in said housing and positioned in a plane perpendicular to said axis for uniform radiation of the sample placed in said aperture, means for excluding from said light sensitive device, radiations from said sample and from said source, of wavelengths emitted by said source, and means for measuring the response of said light sensitive device upon irradiation of samples in said aperture by light from said source.

2. In a fiuorometer having a light-tight housing except for a sample receiving aperture in one surface thereof, the combination of afluorescent standard within said housing and adjacent said aperture, baffle means within said housing selectively for covering said aperture and said standard having control means extending exteriorly of said housing, a photocell within said housing po sitioned axially of said aperture, a source of ultraviolet light within said housing for irradiating said standard and said sample, and means for indicating the output of said photocell for measurement of the ratio of the fluorescence of said sample to the fluorescence of said standard.

3'. Inca fluorometer having a housing lighttight except for a sample receiving aperture in one face thereof, the combination which comprises a light sensitive device in said housing positioned axially of said aperture, a distributed source of ultraviolet light in said housing and positioned in a plane perpendicular to said axis for uniform radiation of the sample placed in said aperture, means, for excluding from said light sensitive device'radiations from said sample and from said source of wave lengths emitted by said source, and circuit means connected to said light sensitive'device for measuring the intensity of fluorescence from samples in said aperture upon irradiation by light from said source. 4. In a fluorometer having a housing lighttight except for a sample receiving aperture in one surface thereof, the combination of a fluorescent standard within said housing and adjacent said aperture, bafiie means within said housing selectively for covering said aperture and said standard, said bailie having means extending exteriorly of said housing for controlling the position thereof, a photocell within said housing positioned axially of said aperture, a source of ultraviolet light within said housing for irradiating said standard and said sample, and a circuit connected to said photocell for measuring the output thereof. a I

5. In a fluorometer having a housing which is light-tight except for an aperture in one surface thereof, a combination which comprises baflie means within said housing having control means extending exteriorly thereof for closing said aperture, a calibrated fluorescent standard within said housing and adjacent said aperture, bafile means having control means extending exteriorly of said housing for covering said standard, a photocell Within said' housing and positioned axially of said aperture, a distributed source positioned within said housing in a plane parallel to said surface for subjecting said apertureto uniform radiation, and means for measuring the intensity of fluorescence of said sample and said tocell within said housing and positioned axially intensity of fluorescence of said sample and said 7 standard as detected bysaid photocell.

7..In a fluorometer having a housing with a sample receiving aperture in one surface thereof and a photocell therein positioned axially of said aperture with a light filter for preventing passage to said photocell of all wave lengths shorter than visible light, the improvement which comprises a calibrated fluorescent standard within said housing and adjacent said aperture, 2. distributed source of ultraviolet light symmetrically positioned with respect to the axis of said aperture in a plane parallel to said surface for irradiating said standard and samples positioned adjacent said aperture and means for measuring the ratio of the output of said photocell in response to radiations from said standard and from said samples. 8. In a fluorometer having a housing light- .tight except for a sample receiving aperture in one surface thereof, the combination of a fluorescent standard within said housing and adjacent said aperture, baiile means within said housing selectively for covering said aperture and said standard having control means extending exteriorly of said housing, a photocell within said housing positioned axially of said aperture, a source of ultraviolet light within said housing for irradiating said standard and said sample, circuit means comiected to said photocell having current indicating means in the output thereof, gain controlling resistance means in said circuit for adjusting the zero on said current indicating means when both said aperture and said standard are covered, a variable feed-back resistance means for adjusting the full scale deflection of said current indicating means when said standard is uncovered, whereby the deflection of said current indicating means upon excitation of said photocell by radiation from said sample will'be proportional to the ratio of the fluorescence of said sample to the fluoresence of said standard.

9. In a fluorometer having a housing which is light-tight except for an aperture in one surface thereof and a photocell within said housing positioned axially of said aperture, the conibination which comprises a calibrated fluorescent standard Within said housing and adjacent said aperture, a source of ultraviolet light for irradiating said surface of said housing which includes said aperture and said standard, a feed-back am-. plifying circuit connected to said photocell for measuring the excitation thereof and havin'g'an' ammeter in the feed-back loop, a bafile for covering said standard having control means extending exteriorly of said housing, variable bias means in said amplifier circuit for adjusting the current in said feed-back loop to zero when said baflle covers said standard variable resistance means in said feed-back loop for adjusting the full scale deflection of said meterwhen said photocell receives radiation from said standard, and bafile means for controlling said aperture whereby a sample placed adjacent said'aperture will excite said photocell and produce a deflection on said meter directly proportional to the ratio of its fluorescence to the fluoresence of said standard.

10. Ina fluorometer having a housing with a sample receiving aperture in one surface thereof and a photocell therein positioned axially of said aperture with a light filter for preventing passage to said photocell of all wave lengths shorter than visible light, the improvement which com prises baffle means within said housing having control means extending exteriorly of said hOllSr ing for closing said aperture, a calibrated'fiuorescent standard within said housing and adja cent said aperture, bafiie means forcovering said standard, a distributed source of ultraviolet light positioned in a plane parallel to said surface for irradiating said standard and samples positioned adjacent said aperture when said bafiles are removed, a feed-back amplifier connected to said photocell having a meter in the feed-back path thereof, gain control means in the grid circuit of said amplifier for adjusting for zero feed-back current when both said aperture and said sample are covered, and variable resistance means in the feed-back loop for adjusting said current for full scale deflection of said meter when said standard is exposed to radiation whereby radiation from said sample alone will produce a defiection on said meter due to said feedback current directly proportional to the ratio of the fluor'esence of said sample to the fiuoresence of said standard.

11. A fluorometer comprising a housing which is light-tight except for a sample receiving aperture in one face thereof, a light sensitive device in said housing positioned axially of said aper ture, a distributed source of ultraviolet light in said housing and positioned in a plane perpendicular to said axis for uniform radiation of the surface of a sample placed in said aperture, means for excluding from said light sensitive device radiations from said sample and from said source of wave lengths emitted by said source, and means for measuring the response of said light sensitive device upon irradiation of samples in said aperture by light from said source.

12. A fiuorometer comprising a housing which is light-tight except for a sample receiving aperture in one face thereof, a light sensitive device in said housing positioned axially of said aperture and a source of ultraviolet light in said housing in a plane perpendicular to said axis having an areal distribution equal to or greater than the area of said aperture for uniform radiation of the surface of a sample placed in said aperture, and means for measuring the response of said light sensitive device to visible light from said sample upon irradiation thereof by said source.

13. A fiuorometer having a housing which is light-tight except for a sample receivingaperture in one face thereof, a light-sensitive device in said housing positioned axially of said aperture, a source of ultraviolet light having an areal REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,217,991 Peck et al Oct. 15, 1940 2,363,600 Lawlor Nov. 28, 1944 2,478,745 Cornwall Aug. 9, 1949 2,459,512 Fash et a1 Jan. 13, 1949 

